Is Sukumara Kurup Alive? Kerala’s Most Wanted Fugitive Back In News After 42 Years
Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has directed the Crime Branch to verify reports that fugitive Sukumara Kurup, who has remained missing since 1984, may still be alive and living abroad under a false identity.
Sukumara Kurup, one of Kerala’s most infamous fugitives, is back in the spotlight more than four decades after his disappearance.
Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Friday directed the state Crime Branch to investigate recent media reports claiming that Kurup is alive and living in a foreign country under an assumed identity.
Chennithala said the reports are currently only allegations and stressed the need to establish the facts. He has instructed ADGP Crime Branch Venkatesh to investigate the claims and said the Kerala Police would need to contact Interpol to ascertain whether there is any truth behind the reports.
Sukumara Kurup, whose real name is Gopalakrishna Kurup, is a former Indian Air Force airman from Alappuzha who became one of Kerala’s most wanted fugitives following a murder and alleged insurance fraud conspiracy in January 1984.
Kurup had reportedly moved to the Middle East after his Air Force service and worked as an executive with a marine petroleum company in Abu Dhabi. He had an insurance policy worth ₹8 lakh and allegedly planned to fake his own death to claim the insurance amount.
According to the account provided in the report, Kurup and his accomplices identified a man named Chacko, a film representative who reportedly bore a physical resemblance to Kurup.
On January 21, 1984, they allegedly offered Chacko a lift before forcing him to consume intoxicating substances and killing him. His body was subsequently placed inside Kurup’s car and burned in an attempt to make the death appear to be an accident.
The incident was initially treated as an accident. However, the subsequent investigation uncovered the alleged conspiracy and murder, leading to the arrest and conviction of Kurup’s accomplices.
Kurup, however, disappeared and has not been traced since 1984.
The latest development follows claims made by Ali Akbar, a former Crime Branch officer who investigated the case in 2017.
According to the supplied report, Akbar told Malayalam media that Kurup may be living in Brunei under the alleged identity of John Menon, described as a Malaysian citizen of Indian origin.
A Malayalam news channel has also reportedly published what it claimed was a recent photograph of Kurup and his alleged hideout in Brunei.
Malayalam media later reported that the photograph being circulated as a recent image of Sukumara Kurup was not of the fugitive.
A relative reportedly clarified that the man in the picture is a resident of Thrissur, and the photograph was originally taken in 2023.
The image, which has now gone viral across social media amid fresh speculation about Kurup’s whereabouts, had been widely shared as his alleged latest photograph.
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However, authorities have not confirmed that the person in the reports is Sukumara Kurup. The Kerala government has therefore ordered the Crime Branch to verify the claims before drawing any conclusions.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the reports must be investigated rather than accepted as fact. He directed the Crime Branch to examine the claims and explore coordination with Interpol to establish Kurup’s whereabouts.
The case remains classified as a Long Pending (LP) case, and the Crime Branch continues to be responsible for investigating the latest developments.
The central motive in the 1984 case was reportedly an attempt to fake Kurup’s death and collect his life insurance payout.
Investigators found that the victim, Chacko, was allegedly selected because of his physical resemblance to Kurup. His death was then allegedly staged as an accident involving Kurup’s car.
The case became one of Kerala’s most notorious unsolved fugitive stories because, despite the arrests and convictions of other accused persons, Kurup himself managed to disappear.
The mystery surrounding the fugitive has remained part of Kerala’s popular culture for decades. In 2021, the story inspired the Malayalam film Kurup, with Dulquer Salmaan portraying a fictionalised version of the fugitive.
The renewed reports about Kurup potentially being alive have once again brought the decades-old case into public discussion.
For now, there is no official confirmation that Sukumara Kurup is alive or that he is living in Brunei under a false identity. The latest claims remain subject to investigation.
